Stool and foot-rest for shoe dealers.



W. N. 'JOHNSTON.

STOOL AND FOOT BEST FOR SHOE DEALERS.

(Application filed Nov. 17, 1898.)

' Patented lune l2, I900.

( N o M MQL),

ms ncnms PEYERS cu Puoroumu, WASHINGTON, c.

NITED STATES PATENT Fare STOOL AND FOOT-REST F OR SHOE DEALERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 651,628, dated June 12,1900. Application filed November 17, 1828. serial No- 696,699. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it nutty concern..-

Beitknown that I, WILLIAM N. JOHNSTON, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Stools and Foot-Rests for Shoe Dealers, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to stools and footrests for shoe dealers, and hasfor its object to provide a portable and convenient combined stool andfoot-rest to be used by dealers and salesmen in the fitting on of shoes,the foot-rest whereof may be readily adjusted to any desired positionthrough a wide range, will present the foot in properposition to thedealer or salesman, and will protect the shoe, particularly the heel orcounter thereof, from injury.

To these ends my present invention consists in certain novel featureswhich I will now proceed to describe and will then particularly pointout in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of acombined stool and foot-restembodying my invention. Fig. 2 isa detailsectional view thereof,taken on the line 2 20f Fig. 1. Fig. 3isadetailface View of the fixed clamping-plate carried by the bracket. Fig. 4 isan edge view of the same. Fig. 5is a face view of the movableclamping-plate carried by the foot-rest. Fig. 6 is an edge View of thesame. Fig. 7 is a detail bottom plan view of the sectional portion ofthe foot-rest, showing in end elevation the lug to which the clampingplate and bolt are connected; and Fig. 8 is a detail view of one of theheel-supporting posts or projections of the foot-rest, its coveringbeing shown in section.

In said drawings, 10 represents the stool as a whole comprising a seat11, the frame or rim 12 of which has a comparatviely-narrow neck 13,extending in a forward direction and supported at its extreme front endbyaleg 14. The seat portion of the stool is supported by legs 15 of anysuitable construction, and the several legs may be cross-braced in themanner shown or in any other suitable manner.

16 indicates a metallic bracket one of the diverging arms of which issecured to the front end of the extension 13 of the seat-frame, whilethe other diverging arm is secured at its end to the leg 14. At thepoint where the two arms of the bracket 16 converge they are providedwith a fixed clam ping-disk 17, which is substantially on a line withor'slightly below the level of the top of the stool and which isprovided with a central aperture 18 and with radial corrugations 19, asclearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

20 indicates the foot-rest, which is shaped to conform approximately tothe lower portion of the shoe, having a depressed heel portion 21 andbeing provided under its central or instep portion with adownwardly-extending lug 22, by means of which it may be clamped to thebracket 16, being provided with an aperture 23 to receive theclampingbolt. The lug 22 may be clamped direct to the clamping-plate 17of the bracket; but I prefer to employ a separate clamping plate or disk24, having a central bolt-aperture 25 and radial corrugations 26,adapted to engage the radial corrugations 19 of the clampingplate 17.This clampingdisk is held from rotation on the lug 22 by means of a rib27 on the back of the plate which engagesagroove 28 onthe lug. The lug22 is provided on its outer face with parallel ribs 29, which formbetween them a groove or recess 30.

31 indicates a clamping-bolt, which has a polygonal head 32, which fitswithin the groove 30, and thereby prevents rotation of the bolt, saidbolt extending through the apertures'23, 25, and 18 and being providedon its projecting threaded end with a thumb-nut 33, which bears againsta boss 34 on the outer face of the clamping-plate 17.

The foot-rest 20 is provided on its under side with strengthening-ribs35, projecting in the same direction as the lug 22. The heel portion 21of the foot-rest is provided on its upper side with upwardly-projectingpins 36, against which the heel or counter of the shoe may rest when thefoot-rest is in use, and said pins 36 are provided with a covering 37,preferably removable, of some yielding material,- such, for instance, asrubber. In practice I preferto employ rubber caps, which may he slippedover and will fit snugly upon said pins, but which may be readilyremoved and replaced in case of wear.

The combined stool and foot-rest thus con= structed forms a convenientand portable de vice for the use of sales-men or dealers in the fittingof shoes, the salesman occupying the seat, while the foot of thecustomer is supported directly in front of him and at a convenientheightby means of the bracket,which is carried by the forward extension 13 andfront leg 14 of the stool. The angle of the foot-rest may be changed byloosening the thumb-nut, and the foot-rest may be firmly secured in anyposition to which it may be moved by tightening said thumb-nut andcausing the radial corrugations of the clamping-plates to engage orinterlock with each other. The location of the pivot, around which thefoot-rest is adjusted underneath the central or instep portion of thefoot-rest, gives a wider range of adjustment than when the pivot isunder the front or toe portion thereof and permits a better inspectionof the shoe. The height of this pivot is such, being substantially on alevel with the top of the stool, that the shoe is brought into betterposition relatively to the salesman for examination. The employment ofthe pins on the heel portion for supporting the shoe lessens the amountof metal in the foot-rest and correspondingly lightens the same, whileat the same time it reduces the wear upon the shoe: When these pins areprovided, as is preferred, with coverings of soft material, such asrubber, this wear is still further reduced,

and the making of these coverings removable permits of their beingreadily replaced when worn out.

The provision of a separate and removable clamping plate or disk for thefoot-rest proper provides for the renewal of the corrugated clampingsurface thereof when worn, and thus obviates the discarding of theentire foot-rest when this has occurred. Moreover, this provisionenables me to cast the foot-rest with the lug 22 and its grooves 28 and30, the strengthening-ribs 35, and the pins 36, since these parts allproject in the same direction, and a mold for their construction may bereadily made and the pattern withdrawn, while if the corrugations werecast directly upon the face of the lug it would be impossible to castthese several ribs and projections in a two-part mold, owing to the factthat the mold would have to be divided along the plane of the lug. Theribs 29 not only serve to form the groove or recess 30, but they alsoserve to materially strengthen the lug, which may thus be made thinnerthroughout, and the same is true with regard to reduction in metal withrespect to the foot-rest 20 and its strengthening-ribs 35.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself strictly to theprecise construction hereinbefore set forth, as it is obvious that thedetails shown and described may be varied without departing from theprinciple of my invention.

I claim-'- 1. A stool having a narrow forward eriten sion of its seatportion and a supporting-leg at its end, in combination with a bracketsupported on said forward extension and leg, and a foot-rest adj ustablypivoted to said bracket, substantially as described.

2. A stool having a narrow forward extension of its seat portion and asupporting-leg at its end, in combination with a bracket supported onsaid forward extension and leg, and a foot-rest adj ustably pivoted tosaid bracket, the pivotal point being located some distance in front ofand substantially on a level with said extension and beneath the centralor instep portion of the foot-rest, substantially as described.

3. A stool having a narrow forward extension of its seat portion and asupporting-leg at its end, in combination with a V-shaped bracket havingone arm connected to the seat portion and the other to said leg, and aclam ping-plate formed at the junction of said arms, a foot-restprovided with a downwardly-extending lug, and a clamping-bolt having anut and passing through said clamping-plate and lug, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination, with a foot-rest having a depending lug with agroove or recess on each face, of a separable clamping-disk having a ribto engage the groove on the inner face of the lug and provided withradial corrugations on its other face, a supporting bracket having aclamping-plate correspondingly corrugated, a bolt having a head toengage the recess in the outer face of the lug and passing th roughsuitable apertures in the lug, disk and plate, and a clamping-nutmounted on the threaded end of the bolt to bear against the outer faceof the clamping device, substantially as described.

VILLIAM N. JOHNSTON.

\Vitnesses:

L. F. MGOREA, IRVINE MILLER.

